A.G.M. Tuesday 23 April 2008
Chairman's Report.
Commander Chris Cole RN
I am happy to report that the flotilla has had another very successful and very busy year.
The lecture programme has been excellent and despite various problems with visual aid equipment from time to time, the end results have been first class. Our thanks go to Nigel Broadhurst for all the effort he has put into arranging them. The Committee decided this year that to ease the problems experienced with the equipment the Flotilla would invest in its own lap-top and projector, which we have done. Attendance at lectures has remained steady at the 40 to 50 mark which is very encouraging.
A ship visit to RFA Largs Bay was arranged by Nigel in September and was very successful.
Our links with HMS EXETER have been curtailed by the deployment of her ship's company to the Falklands for a major part of the past year but four of us managed to go to her final affiliates sea day in March. The ship will now decommission in August and some time before then they hope to hold a freedom of the city march in Exeter, which should have taken place next Saturday but has had to be postponed. The Committee is looking into the possibility of a ship affiliation once HMS Exeter is decommissioned.
The annual summer party was a very enjoyable evening once again culminating in the ceremony of sunset performed by the Exeter Sea Cadet Corps.
Our traditional golf day at the east Devon golf club went very well and we again had a very good turnout for the dinner in the evening. Thanks to Robert Harland for organising the event and we look forward to this year's event, which takes place on 7th August
We hosted 3 members of the Rennes Chapter of ACORAM, along with 2 members of the Paris Branch of the RNVR Association between 9th and 14th October. We were a bit disappointed by the numbers coming from Rennes since we were originally hoping for around 8 or 9. However, an excellent programme was arranged during which we managed to visit all arms of the RN, with trips to Yeovilton, Devonport and of course here at Lympstone. A skittles evening at the Ley Arms was followed on the last night of the visit by a dinner at the Mount Pleasant Inn in Dawlish, during which England managed to beat France in the Rugby. My thanks go to all the members of the Flotilla who supported the visit. We are expecting the links with ACORAM to continue albeit on not such a lavish scale.
October saw our traditional Trafalgar Day service at the cathedral, which included a commemoration of the Falklands campaign with the Sermon being given by the Chaplain of the Fleet. The Service was a great success and we are grateful to Rory Jackson and Martin Sowman for all the hard work that goes into arranging the event. At this year's service which takes place on Sunday 19th October, Rory has managed to secure the services of the Commander in Chief Fleet to read the lesson.
November saw our annual dinner with guest of honour Commander John Muxworthy in his capacity as chairman of the UK National Defence Association. After the roaring success the previous year of the Devon and Dorset Light Infantry Corps of Drums and their woodwind quintet, last year we were fortunate enough to secure the services of the CTCRM Corps of Drums and their string quartet and I am pleased to announce that they have been booked again for this year's event which will take place on Friday 21 November.
We have managed to maintain our links with the Amphibious Task Group through the visit to Largs Bay, the Commodore's attendance at the Cathedral and the Patron's lecture in January. Commodore Phil Jones has now been relieved by Commodore Peter Hudson.
On the membership front, numbers are steady
and currently have a membership of 204 . This comprises 52% RN, 13% RNVR, 17%
RNR and 8% RM. 107 or 52% are on email.
Thanks also to the Membership Secretary,
Andy Quick, for continuing to do a splendid job as well as managing and maintaining
our web site.
Thanks go to Gerald Newton as our general secretary and to
Chris Seaton as our treasurer and my thanks go to Patrick Collis and Angus Atherton
for volunteering to join the Committee and I will assume you will be formally
electing them in the next item on the agenda.